It's been almost a decade since Disneyland opened a truly new attraction and nearly two decades since the Anaheim theme park introduced a groundbreaking new ride. You have to go back to 2005’s Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters for the last truly new attraction at Disneyland — and that was a knockoff of a Walt Disney World ride. The last groundbreaking ride at the park was Indiana Jones Adventure in 1995. Rocket Rods opened during the 1998 Tomorrowland makeover, but that star-crossed ride has long since retired to Yesterland. Since then, there have been extensive rehabs (Star Tours in 2011), elaborate refreshes (It's a Small World in 2009) and substantial rethemes...

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It's been almost a decade since Disneyland opened a truly new attraction and nearly two decades since the Anaheim theme park introduced a groundbreaking new ride.
You have to go back to 2005’s Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters for the last truly new...

It has been a while since singer Jo Dee Messina's last — and only — trip to Walt Disney World. She remembers seeing Cinderella, Space Mountain and "maybe a glimpse of the parade," she said. She was about 8 years old.
She will see more as the...

The preparations for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom put me in a nostalgic mood for good — and occasionally harrowing — times aboard other Central Florida roller coasters. I've been having flashbacks of many ups and downs for some of our...

For a theme park that is one of the biggest and most-visited tourist destinations in the world, it’s not very often something small attracts a whole lot of attention at Walt Disney World.
Sure, everyone loves to talk up the Small World attraction at...

The heat is still on for Central Florida theme park visitors.
We are nearing the season where many choose to visit Walt Disney World because the parks are less crowded, but the temperatures will remain higher than desired for weeks after the...

"Escape From Tomorrow" is a film shot at Disney World, without Disney's cooperation or permission.
But it doesn't look like it. The 90-minute film, which debuts in theaters today, used dozens of locales at Magic Kingdom, Epcot and...

The eternal problem with Tomorrowland is that the commonplace reality of today inevitably catches up to and ultimately surpasses the ultramodern imagined future of yesterday.
Disneyland's forward-looking land of tomorrow has seen many evolutions since...

I love it when something so wholesome as Disney embraces its dark side. It's why I loved Mr. Toad's Wild Ride back before Pooh squashed him in 1998. What other ride at Disney took you on a ride to hell? (And no, it's a small world doesn't count.)So that's...

You've always wanted your own little Space Mountain in the garage, right? Or maybe a miniature Expedition Everest in the backyard? Well, what would you think about owning an actual working roller coaster that once was used at Walt Disney World?
No,...

OAHU, Hawaii - "I need alcohol!" exclaimed the bikini-clad young woman on a hot day in June as she splashed out of an artificial river after plunging down a water slide inside an artificial mountain at Aulani, Disney's new resort hotel in...

Disney has unveiled plans to roll out a revolutionary new digital reservation system at its four Florida theme parks allowing visitors to pre-book rides, shows, parades, restaurants and character meet-and-greets months before a vacation.
So when will...

In humankind’s shared mythology of the hero’s journey, the path to adventure, transformation and atonement sometimes is taken alone – though more times than not it is completed with the help of a trusted friend.
Such is true of most beloved adventures...

Construction continues on new Fantasyland attractions at Magic Kingdom, the largest expansion in the theme park's 40-year history. Chris Beatty, senior creative director of the project, gave some details about the future attractions during a...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - As we walked across the broad, brick-paved plaza, a burst of music swelled, the strings rising to cinematic heights amid a pounding of kettle drums. A man in a crisp white shirt waved and beamed. Perfectly manicured flowers swayed in the...

Disney World started having "dress rehearsals" for some attractions within the Fantasyland expansion at Magic Kingdom last week. The park isn't announcing when or for how long these introductions will last, so you can't absolutely count on...

On an afternoon in early October, I sat in a pew in an old church and took in Mass. A woman dressed all in white sang a soothing hymn, and then a priest in an intricate, green robe read from a prepared sermon; behind him, an imposing pipe organ...